Police: Medford deaths a murder-suicide

MEDFORD - A Medford man who shot and killed his girlfriend and then himself last week was a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and still was married to another woman, according to court documents.

Kristina Irene Knopp, 23, died after being shot by Chad K. Mayes, 27, who then killed himself, according to police.

Knopp's parents found Knopp and Mayes dead Thursday evening inside her apartment in Medford and called 911 around 7:40 p.m., according to court documents. Medford is a city in Taylor County more than 30 miles north of Marshfield.

Knopp was born in Novocheboksarsk, Russia, in 1995 and was adopted by the Knopp family when she was 13, according to her obituary. They brought her to the United States in 2009. She graduated from Abbotsford Christian Academy in 2013.

Mayes entered the U.S. Marine Corps in 2008, was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and did an extended tour in Iraq, according to his obituary. He was married and had two children.

Mayes was separated from his wife, who knew about his relationship with Knopp, according to court documents.

After Knopp's parents called 911, Medford police responded to Knopp's apartment to investigate, according to court documents. Investigators applied for warrants to search and take evidence from Knopp's apartment, Mayes' apartment and Mayes' car.

Two semi-automatic pistols were on the floor. Items taken from Mayes' apartment included four long guns, five handguns, a launcher that would normally be used to launch flares or smoke, ammunition and an empty prescription bottle that had contained anti-depressants, according to court documents.

The state Department of Justice assisted the Medford Police Department and Taylor County Sheriff's Office with their investigation, Medford Police Chief Ken Coyer said.